Thursday, October 11, 2007

Halloween Mix 2007 Track 9 - The Upsetters' Vampire

Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Upsetters are next in the mix... the tune is called "The Vampire" from the Trojan various artists CD Loch NessMonster. The early organ driven reggae track has always given me a feeling more of lunacy than of actualvampirism. It doesn't hurt that the wacky intro, on the tale end of yesterday's track, involving the conversation between a patient, a doctor and a nurse seems to serve as a segue from reality to the "trippy" after effects of the injection that the delusional patient desperately needs. I have enhanced the track with some maniacal laughter that would seem so appropriate in not just this song but in so many of Perry's later works as well.

Today's image is a still of Max Schreck in the roll of the evil vampire Count Orlok from the 1922 German film Nosferatu. This F.W. Murnau adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula has got to be one of my all-time favorite horror films regardless of its historical significance and artistry. Schreck's ghastly bat-like appearance is the stuff that nightmares are made of and its nice to see that nightmares haven't changed much in eighty five years. Where some casual viewers might complain that the movie is silent and "crudely" made I see pure delight. The creepy images are enhanced by the grainy black & white and the silence helps alleviate the distraction of your other senses while you soak in the visual terror. Put it on, turn down the sound to drown out the added musical accompaniment, turn out the lights and prepare to be horrified... now that I think about it, a Jamaican Halloween mix might make Nosferatu all the better!